Cheltenham’s top knitters unveil community quilt

/ March 9, 2015 at 4:13 pm

A beautiful community quilt inspired by friendship has been created by a group of dedicated knitters in Cheltenham.

The woollen masterpiece, featuring all the colours of the rainbow, was unveiled on Thursday 5 March by the Brandon Trust’s; Knit and Natter at their regular get together at our Wallace House Sheltered Scheme.

Since November the members of the Knit and Natter Group have been keeping their knitting needles busy by creating sections of the quilt which is made up of a series of colourful knitted squares.

Set up by the Brandon Trust, a charity that helps people with learning disabilities and autism, with our support, the group meet twice a month on a Thursday morning at the Wallace House Community Hub based on Windermere Road.

Paula Watson, our Community Activity Co-ordinator, said: “This beautiful piece of needlecraft is testament to the skill and passion of our Knit and Natter Group and they should be very proud of their achievement. We’re delighted with the success of this group which has proved to be a fantastic way of bringing together people from all walks of life with a shared interest. It’s a joy to see the older and younger members of the group learning from each other and building new friendships.”

The Knit and Natter Group won’t be putting their knitting needles down any time soon and have already got some new community projects in their sights. They will be making fingerless mittens to support homeless people, bonnets for neo-natal units and Twiddle Muffs for sufferers of dementia.

The group is co-ordinated by Samantha Dee, Brandon Trust Activity Coordinator, and welcomes men and women of all ages and abilities. She said: “The group is all about social inclusion and the people we support being part of the community. It also offers people a chance to build new friendships outside of Brandon Trust.”

For more information about the Knit and Natter Group please contact Paula Watson from CBH on 01242 775855 or Samantha Dee at Brandon Trust on 07884 384 928.

Brandon Trust is an ambitious UK charity working across Southern England including London supporting approximately 1,300 children and adults with learning disabilities and autism.

In the UK today, there are 1.5 million people with learning disabilities. Despite significant developments in the last 20 years, people with learning disabilities are still restricted by many aspects of the modern world; less than 7% of them for example have a job. Brandon Trust is striving to change this. They inspire the people they support to set themselves free so they can reach for their dreams and be all they can be.

They provide support and have a wealth of experience in working with people with complex needs whose behaviour sometimes challenges the environment in which they live, or with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

In their 20th year, they are looking forward to how, in partnership with the people they support, they can shape the future for people with learning disabilities. They are striving to build a connected society through the following ambitions:

Ensuring people they support are connected in their community and wider society.

Encouraging and equipping more people they support to live in their own homes.

Ensuring that everyone with a learning disability has the right and the capacity to have their voice heard.

CBH is one of the top rated ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations) in the country. ALMOs are not for profit companies that run social housing services for their local council

Currently CBH manage and maintain around 5,000 tenant and leasehold properties with high satisfaction and performance levels, when compared nationally with other housing providers

CBH put their customers at the heart of what they do; working with them to shape services and ensure the company focuses on local need

CBH deliver more than high quality core landlord services: they have an ongoing programme building new homes and regenerating communities; they support people to find work and employment; work to improve financial inclusion and develop stock to make it more energy efficient